Abidjan (PAMACC News) - After almost one year of dry spell in Kenya’s Makueni County, rains have finally come down. Now, everything looks green, very green. But residents know, for sure, that this is a very short-lived spectacle, because two days after the downpour subsides, all seasonal rivers will dry up, and in two months, the sun will be burning with vengeance, upon perched thirsty sandy soils. That’s why they have invested in sand-dams, as their magic bullet for harvesting the rain water, and using it for another set of months after every rainy season.The dam is simply a reinforced concrete wall built across a seasonal riverbed. When it rains, the concrete wall gathers sand, which becomes a reservoir for water.As residents in the entire semi arid Eastern Kenya rush to propagate their seeds following the pounding rainfall, women in Songeni village are completely relaxed. One thing they are sure of is that their sand-dam constructed across Tawa River has already captured millions of litres of water, which the entire village will use for domestic purposes and irrigation for the next one year – if it doesn’t rain again.“It is the most appropriate way of harvesting water from seasonal rivers in dryland areas,” Simon Middrell, the founder of Excellent Development, a nonprofit organisation that supports rural, dryland communities to work their way out of poverty told delegates at the 2016 Rural Water Supply Network (RWSN) forum in Abidjan.Since February, when it last rained in Makueni, villagers of Songeni have been farming French beans for export, and other crops for domestic consumption using water from their sand-dam.And now, Middrell, whose organisation supported the construction of the sand-dam used by Songeni villagers through a local NGO known as Africa Sand Dam Foundation (ASDF) wants the ‘gospel’ of sand-dam construction in dryland areas spread all over the world, especially in developing countries.However, said Middrell, it cannot be a copy and paste technique. “Sand-dams do not work everywhere. If the place has a lot of clay soil, then the dams are likely going to be silted, and as a result, they will not help the residents,” he warned.It therefore calls for a feasibility study, so as to be sure that the dam will be able to amass sufficient sand, which acts as a cover for water underneath to protect it from evaporation. It also calls for appropriate technicians to construct it, because the intensity of rainfall in dryland areas is likely to break poorly constructed dams.“The sand-dams have numerous advantages,” said Middrell. “They form the best bridges in dryland areas because culverts always break during floods. They recharge ground water, water from the dams is safe for drinking, can be used for domestic purposes and by animals both domestic and wild,” he added.However, Middrell cautioned that without involvement of community members, sand-dam projects are bound to fail because they will lack ownership. “You need to involve the surrounding community, and have them own the project. That way, they will protect it as their property,…

NAIROBI, Kenya (PAMACC News) - Over 360,000 women are set to benefit from an energy enterprise subsidy in seven counties in Kenya.The three year Energy and Advocacy for Gender in Kenya (AGEK) project by Practical Action targets women in Nairobi, Nakuru, Kisumu, Siaya, Nyeri, Murang’a and Kakamega counties.Practical Action programme manager, Lydia Muchiri, says the project aims to empower women economically by linking them to the charcoal briquettes and cookstoves value chain.“The plan is to support women in energy enterprises as a way of mainstreaming gender into the energy sector,” says Muchiri.According to a study by the organization, women are excluded from energy projects, and are not equipped with appropriate technical training, as well as financing.Yet, Kenya has committed to reach the 80 per cent target for energy generation through renewables, argues Muchiri.However, she says, this can be achieved by tapping local energy sources such as charcoal briquette production and establishing energy generating mini grids.“Women can be able to make decisions on energy access if they are empowered,” says Muchiri. “This can help them establish small business and raise their profile as future entrepreneurs.” Practical Action project officer, Jacqueline Kimeu, says access to modern clean energy solutions can help women access credit lines to invest in micro enterprises.This can also reduce pressure on Kenya’s forests where over 80 percent of Kenya’s households rely on energy for domestic use.The project also aims to ensure that implementation of Kenya’s Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) integrates gender objectives in the process.

ABIDJAN (PAMACC News) - African governments will be forced to come up with rural based water and sanitation projects with clear infrastructure for management and maintenance, if they have to benefit from the African Development Dervelopment Bank’s kitty for rural water supply.Speaking at the Rural Water Supply Network (RWSN) forum in Abidjan, Sering Jallow of the African Development Bank expressed concerns that many leaders in African countries usually prioritise projects that are politically beneficial, thus, ignoring important projects that would benefit people on the ground.“Countries always come with proposals for urban water and sanitation projects because such projects are more visible, hence, politically rewarding,” he told the water and sanitation forum.The bank runs a project known as Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Initiative (RWSSI), which supports rural water and sanitation projects and programs with funding for investment operations, strengthening of sector processes and systems, as well as through advocacy and knowledge building.According to the latest report, the Bank among other development partners disbursed a total of 35.5 million Euros through RWSSI to support water and sanitation projects in Uganda, Sudan, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leon by 2015. However, the bank now insists on projects that can be sustained for a longer period.“There is need for policies, but also, there is need for adequate capacity for implementation and management with involvement of rural communities and the private sector,” said Jallow.He pointed out that poor management of water and water resources especially in rural areas often leads to fragility. And such fragilities, he said, are always an impediment to development. “There is clear evidence that countries that had conflicts did not achieve the millennium development goals,” he told the water and sanitation forum.Alexander Bakalian, World Bank Sector Manager for Urban Development and Services in the Africa Region pointed out that there was need to professionalise water access services in rural communities.He observed that many governments prefer investing in urban areas where there are many engineers, but are reluctant to take similar investments to rural areas fearing lack of expertise. “We need to understand that poor people live in rural areas. So if we have to address poverty, we must focus on rural communities,” he said.The RWSN forum brings together over 500 people from different sectors to share ideas, learn from each other’s experiences so as to make water available to all, at least by 2030.

It is home rare and endemic species that include the endangered bonobo, the vulnerable forest elephant, golden cat, giant pangolin, Congo peacock, and numerous other rare primates, amphibians, reptiles and birds with over 300 known tree species. And environmentally, the Maringa-Lopori-Wamba forest landscape is known to be a critical carbon sink and biodiversity area found in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).This landscape is an invaluable resource for over 800,000 individuals in this remote rural part of DR Congo. However, due to the increasing population following the high fertility rate among inhabitants and immigrants, this landscape was already succumbing to pressure because the surging population depended on it for livelihood needs, including food, fuel, medicine, income and shelter. However, following intervention by different players among them Africa Wildlife Forum (AWF) with support from USAID and active involvement of local residents for the past 10 years, the Maringa-Lopori-Wamba forest landscape is slowly getting back to its natural position.“We started with micro-zoning so as to create protected areas, then mapped all areas including community forests, areas for agricultural production, and logging concessions among others,” said Hugues Akpona, the AWF country manager in the DR Congo.However, to manage these blocks sustainably, Akpona says, “our approach is to partner with local communities, leaders, organisations and everywhere we go we try to be part of all the decision making processes in raising the conservation agenda.”In the DRC, the Africa Wildlife Foundation works in MLW and Bili Uele where they are involved in improving the effectiveness of protected area management partnering with local wild life authority, the ICCN that is supported technically as well as financial.The support includes setting up management units, surveillances, performance business plans, ensuring the use of new technologies, managing community conservation strategy among others. Akpona underlines the change AWF has brought to this remote area and to its poverty stricken populations supporting the bordering communitiesin the development of agriculture through initiative like distribution of improved seeds, good agricultural practices and other income generating activities.One of the major project undertaken by AWF was to ensure accessibility of the MLW landscape to the Capital Kinshasa by establishing Congo shipping project. The 500-ton green ship found no reliable transportation for the residents in the landscape but now they are able to transport their harvests and the ship brings back manufactured products from the capital.The shipping project has provided a reliable way for the residents on its 11 port stop-over on the Congo River and ensures Maringa-Lopori-Wamba stay connected to the rest of the world while increasing production and access to the markets.The Africa Wildlife Foundation realized another important component in the landscape which is gender balance. This required empowering women achieved through partnering with RFDR (Reseau des Femmes oeuvrant pour le Developpement Rural) to raise production, do literacy classes and develop alternative income generating activities for women and make sure women are also part of decision making processes.“The landscape is very remote with no TV, no telephone and people don’t know about laws,” says Akpona…